Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) Stock Price Up 1.6% - Here's What Happened

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $62.49 and last traded at $62.26. Approximately 2,550,185 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 6,049,616 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NVO shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Guggenheim downgraded shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Dbs Bank cut shares of Novo Nordisk A/S to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut Novo Nordisk A/S from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $64.00 price target (down from $105.00) on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $135.00.

Novo Nordisk A/S Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $280.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.42.

Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. Novo Nordisk A/S had a net margin of 34.81% and a return on equity of 84.68%. Analysts expect that Novo Nordisk A/S will post 3.84 EPS for the current year.

Novo Nordisk A/S Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.7874 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Novo Nordisk A/S's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.51. Novo Nordisk A/S's payout ratio is currently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NVO. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 34.1% in the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 37,849 shares of the company's stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 9,622 shares during the last quarter. Smart Money Group LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 98.5% in the 1st quarter. Smart Money Group LLC now owns 11,572 shares of the company's stock worth $804,000 after purchasing an additional 5,743 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,842 shares of the company's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,038 shares during the period. Cannon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 5.6% during the first quarter. Cannon Advisors Inc. now owns 3,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 77.9% in the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,430 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. 11.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Novo Nordisk A/S

Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease.